Panning for gold in "alternative" pets

In the White Flower, Bird, Fish and insect Market in Shijiazhuang City, there is a very "alternative" pet shop-"Reptilian", ranging from tortoises the size of washbasins to green iguanas with a length of 1.8 meters, conch as small as fingernails and shrimp that is 1 centimeter long.

The shop owner is a young, shy-looking young man known as "Xiangzi". His name is Li Yuanxiang, who is a graduate of the class of 2010 from Hebei normal University. He, who started this pet store with a capital of 10,000 yuan, has earned more than 100,000 yuan in a few years.

In 2007, as a sophomore, Li Yuanxiang came up with the idea of opening his own shop and starting a business: "instead of finding a job after graduating from college, you might as well do it as soon as possible." Although his family unanimously opposed it, he was so adamant that his parents finally agreed to let him have a try.

Relying on the thousands of yuan earned by his freshman work, plus several thousand yuan raised by his parents, Li Yuanxiang raised a total of 10,000 yuan to rent a store and add to his possessions. In October 2007, he opened a pet store that marketed exotic reptiles, called the Reptilian. The reason why he decided to open a pet shop is not only because he liked to raise small animals since childhood, but also because he took a fancy to this market; he chose "alternative" pets in order to "be unique."

However, there are many kinds of "alternative" pets, which pets are in line with the aesthetic taste and consumption level of pet lovers in the provincial capital? What pet has low risk and high profit? Li Yuanxiang conducted painstaking market research. "the pet markets in Shanghai and Guangzhou have basically run all over the market. I have carefully pondered what varieties are sold at what prices and what are the purchase channels." He said.

As the saying goes: the family has a lot of money, but those who breathe do not count. It is not easy to keep good pets, and these new and strange reptile pets are even more difficult to serve than ordinary pets. Their living habits are greatly affected by the seasons, and they are picky about eating, so it is very difficult to raise them. Li Yuanxiang is engaged in business management while learning breeding skills. Because he was not good at learning at the beginning, three pets died in the shop one day, resulting in a loss of more than 1,000 yuan. "that was Mom's monthly salary at that time." So far, Li Yuanxiang is still full of remorse.

With perseverance and continuous learning, Xiangzi finally made his own way in the crawling pet market. Butterfly horn frog, red rose spider, Sukada tortoise. There are more and more kinds of pets in his store, their growth is getting better and better, and their income is gradually increasing. In July last year, he took the initiative to pay his mother's old-age insurance, "hired" his mother to resign to help him take care of the store, and he opened another store in the market, specializing in the distribution of "aquatic landscape".

After Li Yuanxiang's success in starting a business, his classmates and friends who were worried about him are now rubbing their hands, either offering to start a business with him or asking him to help choose a suitable startup project. The teachers of his alma mater also regarded him as a "model" of starting his own business, and often asked him to go back and "speak for himself."

In March last year, he took his classmates to Shanghai to visit the Entrepreneurship Project Exhibition and go deep into the enterprise to inspect the project.

"you should have courage, don't be afraid to negotiate with customers because you are young and inexperienced; you should be good at making friends and don't fight alone; you should often adjust your exhibition hall layout to attract customers; you should have a full range of operations and learn to provide different services for different customers." Li Yuanxiang does not hesitate to teach his "business classics". Of course, he did not forget to remind: "you can't start a business with enthusiasm alone." In order to realize your dream, it is necessary to advance the reserve of relevant knowledge and skills as soon as possible. In addition, you will certainly encounter all kinds of unexpected difficulties in the process of starting a business, and you have to find ways to overcome them. Sometimes, if you hold on for a little longer, you will get bright willows and flowers. "

Led by him, the antique restoration entrepreneurial project and education and training entrepreneurial project of classmates Wang Jin and Zhao Peng have now taken shape and are beginning to make a profit.